Music Notes from Japan

2006-05-01T10:13:00.000-07:00

ocoeekids.blogspot.com --This is a new blog by our students in 4th grade gifted class and Japanese students. Open it to learn more. See "Stonecutter" musical in photos, too.

ORIGAMI is the art of paper folding. Type this word, origami, on the internet and you'll find patterns to fold.

2006-01-21T13:16:00.000-08:00

Tree Hugger
Tree huggers were found throughout the park.

2006-01-21T13:14:00.000-08:00

Tanabata Wishes
Tanabata wishes are made for the new year and put on a strip of paper that is tied to a tree. My students made their tanabata wishes at the beginning of our school year with their wishes for music class.

2006-01-21T13:13:00.000-08:00

Ceramics at school
Parents made ceramic poles to greet the children along their walk to school.

2006-01-21T13:09:00.000-08:00

School Lobby
Ceramics decorate the wall inside the front office area. Parents take pride in their ceramic industry.

2006-01-21T13:07:00.000-08:00

City of Tajimi
We visited the schools in Tajimi. Ceramics are the major industry.
The mayor served us tea in these lovely cups!

He also gave us each a special sake cup to keep.

2006-01-21T13:05:00.000-08:00

Tajimi City Hall
This beautiful wall near the mayor's
meeting room is all made in ceramics.

2006-01-21T12:52:00.000-08:00

Grant for Trip
The Japanese government designed this wonderful educational opportunity for educators in the U.S. to visit and learn about the Japanese culture.

2005-10-27T19:55:00.000-07:00

LUNCH

A 6th grade class invited me to eat lunch with them. Everyone eats in the classroom in Japan.

We had sweet brown bread, chicken,
cabbage soup, milk, and a frozen fruit dessert. It was delicious!

They giggled when I talked to them...
in both English and Japanese. They were very shy.

We played piano together. Then I taught them "Heart and Soul." We all
laughed and clapped for each other. Then they asked for my autograph and I got theirs.

2005-10-27T19:28:00.000-07:00

Assembly
The elementary school gave a special music performance for us. They sang out with enthusiasm and played on recorders.

We all had to introduce ourselves in Japanese. I was SO GLAD that you all helped me practice! I was good!

2005-10-27T19:19:00.000-07:00

Muppet in Japan
Lady Godiva was a big hit at the elementary school! She greeted the students with a smile and handshake.

The students enjoyed trying to speak English to us. They also taught us a cool dance and many fun traditional games.

What game or dance would you think we should teach someone when they visit our school?

2005-10-27T19:02:00.000-07:00

Tokyo at night
The city streets glow with colorful lights as evening comes. It's a most beautiful city! And the people are kind, friendly and helpful. I treasure every encounter I had with the people of Japan.

How many people live in Japan?

2005-10-27T18:41:00.000-07:00

Tokyo Tower
I shot this photo from the sidewalk, looking up at the tower.Then I went up it in a glass elevator. It was scary! It is taller than the Eiffel Tower in France.

If the Eiffel Tower is 320 meters high, and this Tokyo Tower is 333 meters high, how much higher is this tower?

2005-10-27T18:32:00.000-07:00

Colors
The leaves were changing to a lovely array of many colors. This happens in October and November.

Do you know why?

2005-10-27T18:21:00.000-07:00

My Host Mom & me
We also went up to an observation deck, overlooking the mountain. What a view!

2005-10-27T18:06:00.000-07:00

Temple
I got a rare chance to go inside this famous Buddhist Temple. It is only open to the local people of Japan for one day a year.I visited many other temples and shrines.I always had to take off my shoes to go inside.

What is this shrine made of?

2005-10-22T18:37:00.000-07:00

Tammy,

I can open my blog and school mail, but it has been difficult to send e-mail from Japan. I have read every comment that has been posted. Thank the students and staff and tell them to keep writing me, even if they don't hear back from me.

It has also been difficult to post photos ever since I left Tokyo.

Thanks for your help.

Gale

2005-10-22T01:32:00.000-07:00

My Host Family
Today my host family picked me up. The mother is named Kazumi. She is very nice and very pretty. She knows some English.

She took me to a beautiful park, the Flower Park. I saw beautiful Japanese gardens! The roses were large and smelled like sweet perfume.
There were also colorful flowers that I didn't recognize. I saw "tree huggers" too. I went up to the top of a tall tower and saw the fantastic view of the forests and mountains! Wow, it was exciting!

Her 12-year-old daughter, Ayano just came home. She is a little shy. She has a lovely singing voice. She says she likes to swim. She is a good student.

School visits
My group visited many schools this week. I liked the elementary school the best. The children were so excited to see us, especially Lady Godiva, my new muppet. She is famous now!

The students set up learning centers to teach us their traditional games and crafts. It was fun! When I get home, I will teach you the games.

Lunch is always in the classroom. I ate with a class, using chopsticks. It was "oishi", delicious. The bread was sweet. I had milk, cabbage soup, a mini egg omelet, some thin vegetable slices and a cup of frozen fruit ( like sherbet.)

Now the 14-year-old daughter, Mayu, has just come home with her dad, Ken. She likes to play the piano and tennis.

Ken likes to read books. He also likes to watch Dvds and detective shows like Columbo.

2005-10-21T09:35:00.000-07:00

Answers to some of your questions:

To say "monkey" in Japanese, you say: "monkey-monkey"

BAMBOO is very strong. It's so strong, they even use bamboo to build houses!

2005-10-19T02:45:00.000-07:00

Visiting Schools In Tajimi
I rode the bullet train "Shankinsen". This is the fastest train in the world. It goes well over 100 miles an hour. I went to the city of Tajimi in the prefecture (state) of Gifu. I met the mayor and the superintendent of schools.

Today I visited a middle school. I ate lunch with a class and took lots of video of their choir. They let me play french horn with the band. That was so fun!

The students all helped to clean their school. They swept with brooms and polished the floors on their hands and knees. Wow, was it clean!

2005-10-15T01:26:00.000-07:00

Shopping
I rode the subway here to go shopping in Tokyo today. I found gifts for you. It is something very sensible that you will value. Just wait and see!

I bought myself a kimono that is made of light weight cotton. It is called a yukata. It is beautiful! I asked how much, "Ikura deska?" The saleslady showed me with numbers like ours on a piece of paper.

I found a 100 Yen store. I really liked shopping there. It is like our dollar stores, because a yen is close to our penny. Their money has the numbers on it like our numbers.

Food
I have had many Japanese meals. The food was delicious (oishi des). I:ve had many kinds of vegetables and lots of white rice. I can eat with chopsticks, but it is tiring.

I ate at McDonalds just to get the happy meal. The toy is their fast train. I'll show you when I get home.

Tonight I ate at a restaurant that is like our Denny's but with Japanese food. I had mushrooms and other veggies over pasta (like fettucini). The waitress showed me pictures of the food because she didn't know English.

2005-10-14T04:55:00.000-07:00

Japanese Music
This is a large stringed instrument called a koto. She is in a traditional Japanese kimono with an obi belt.

I will let you hear her playing soon.

2005-10-14T04:35:00.000-07:00

In Tokyo
Konnichi wa. O genki deska? (How are you?) I am now in Tokyo, Japan. Wow! What a huge city!
From Orlando to SanFancisco and then to Japan, it took 15 1/2 hours . That is a long ride!

My hotel is so huge that I need a map to find my way. I have a cotton kimono robe to wear in my room. There are many, many people in Tokyo and they are very polite and helpful, especially when I need directions to get around.

I ate Japanese food in a tatami room. We left our shoes at the door and walked in our socks. Yes, I slurped my soup loudly and ate with chopsticks. My hand got very tired.

I visited a large Buddahist temple. There was also a pagoda. The outside air was filled with the smoky smell of burning incense, like a campfire.

What else should I see?

2005-10-12T17:36:00.000-07:00

My grandson was born just after I left for Japan!

My grandson, Alexander Joseph, was born on October 10 at 5:23AM. He weighs 9lbs 9oz, and is 21 1/2 inches long! I can't wait to meet him when I come back to Florida. The first picture is my daughter, Staci, holding her new baby boy, AJ. The next picture is my son in law, Terry, with my granddaughter, Grace, and baby AJ!

2005-09-08T18:42:00.000-07:00

Florida and USA
I collected other items to teach the Japanese students and teachers about Florida and the USA. The items about the space center were donated by the Cocoa Beach Chamber of Commerce. Thanks, Kevin. Also, thanks to Sea World for Shamu and Dolly.

Students, do you recognize any of these items?

Of course, as a music teacher, I am taking a patriotic CD by Lee Greenwood. He composed and performed "God Bless The USA".

2005-09-07T17:01:00.000-07:00

Mayor Encourages Cultural Exchange Our Mayor Vandergrift is sending several "City of Ocoee" items with me to Japan. These are special gifts that I will give to the schools in Japan to represent my city. These include: elegant ink pens, "key to the city" pins, candy dishes, and lots more with "Ocoee" on them.

I will e-mail Mayor Vandergrift regularly while I visit and learn in Japan. When I return, I will give him a full report on my many adventures.

Thank you to Mayor Vandergrift for his support!

2005-08-28T12:20:00.000-07:00

Japanese words: ...........English:

konnichi wa...................hello
arigato...........................thanks
sayonara........................good-bye
hai.................................yes
Watashi wa Sue des..My name is Sue.
O genka desuka?.........How are you?
Genka des......................Fine.
Sumimasen....................Excuse me.
Counting
1...ichi...
2...ni
3...san
4...she
5...go
6...roku
7...shichi
8...hatchi
9...ku
10...ju

2005-08-19T11:55:00.000-07:00

Learning a new language
Japanese is the language of Japan. I wanted to learn some words and phrases that would help me visit, eat and shop in that country. I also will be staying with a family that probably doesn't speak English.

I went to a bookstore and bought a book and CD that will teach me Japanese. I try to learn one new word or phrase a day. I write it down on a card to carry around. I also listen to the CD every time I ride in my car.

I found someone who lived in Japan for 4 years (our Media Specialist). I practice my new words when I see her and she answers back.

What words do you think I should learn in Japanese to help me when I'm in Japan?

2005-08-02T12:29:00.000-07:00

Muppet travels with
I created this muppet, Lady Godiva, to accompany me to Japan in October. We will visit several schools and meet the children. Her voice will be recorded onto a tape for many performances. She will return to Ocoee with me and help me tell about the Japanese culture.

At my school, I use lots of puppetry with all ages in my music classes. We also have a Muppet Team in the spring that writes and records their own educational performances.

Bunraku is a very popular type of puppetry in Japan. The puppets are very large human puppets. It takes 3 people to operate one puppet. Puppeteers dress in black and stand on the stage behind their puppet, visible to the audience.

What do you think Lady Godiva should learn in Japan and come back and tell the school children?

Before My Trip To Japan

2005-07-17T16:33:00.000-07:00

I went "on-line" to study famous places that I would like to visit...museums, old cities, temples, shrines, parks, etc. I read about famous Japanese styles of music and theatre. I read about shopping in Tokyo and what to buy.

I read a few books about Japan. One was about their money, how to change my dollars to their yen. Another book had pictures of their musical instruments and costumes for dance and theatre. One book showed maps and different "prefectures" (states) in Japan. It also gave general information, like expected weather and features of each area.

In the fabric store, I bought a pattern to help me sew dance kimonos/obi when I return. I need to know the yardage before I buy the fabric in Japan.

In the local teacher store, I found 2 books with lesson ideas to help recreate my experiences in the classroom. Some were crafts to make, others were activities and coloring sheets.

Most importantly, I contacted a teacher who went to Japan last year in this program. She shared some of her ideas with me and answered many of my questions about what to expect.

Do you know of any other books to read about Japan?